“Oh,” he added, as she started to make her way down the stairs. “Can I pick you up about 8?”
“You got it, Mister Mann. I’ll be all dolled up, and ready for you,” she replied over her shoulder as she descended the stairs.
I’ll bet, Hugh thought. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.
Hugh found his mom in their all-purpose craft, laundry and game room. She was sitting, and working on mending some clothes.
“Hello, son,” Martha said. “Listen, before you start with what you came down here to tell me, I just want to mention one thing.”
“I know, Ma. Go slow,” Hugh said, beating her to it.
Martha laughed. “I guess you know me pretty well, like I know you,” she said.
“Yes, Ma. I’m almost afraid to go out and visit Buck, ’cause I’m afraid he’s going to nag me to ‘go slow.’” They both laughed at his unintended pun.
Hugh then told his mom what his plans were for leaving early the next morning—and why he was planning to do that.
“You’re going to break her heart, Hugh,” his mom said. “But, I see your reasoning. Jenny and I had talked at length about how crazy her uncle is, and how dangerous he’ll be if you ever encounter him again. So, I agree that it is for the best. I just wish it didn’t have to be this way.”
“Me too, Ma. Me too. I’ve never met anybody like Jenny before. And I’m afraid I’m … I’m …”
“Falling in love?” Martha suggested.
“Yeah, that too,” he said. “What I was going to say was that I’m afraid of losing her.” Hugh was embarrassed. He’d never had this kind of conversation with his mother before.
“She’s a great girl, Hugh. You definitely have our blessing. And you can count on us to protect her until you come back for her.”
“Thanks, Ma. That takes a load off.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
The whole family, except for Mary, was assembled at the base of the stairs waiting for Jenny to come down.
A whispered wolf whistle from Roly alerted them that Jenny was about to make her entrance.
“Behave yourself, Roly,” Martha said. “This is Hugh and Jenny’s moment, not yours.”
Jenny started to descend the stairs, followed by Mary.
Once again, superlatives came up short in any capacity to describe how beautiful Jenny looked. She was wearing a very stylish evening gown of Mary’s that looked like it had been designed just for her. The design allowed for just a hint of cleavage, which, if done right, could be more alluring than showing too much. And, on Jenny, it was perfect.
She also wore minimal makeup—at Mary’s insistence—and the effect was stunning.
Her gorgeous blonde hair had been styled in a way that was not normally “Jenny,” but, once again, the effect was stunning.
“I’d of given anything to look like that at that age … or any age,” Martha said wistfully.
“You did, and you still do,” Hugh, Sr., said, putting his arm around her waist.
“Thank you, sweetie,” Martha said, patting his hand.
As Jenny reached the bottom stair, Hugh held his arm out to her. She crooked hers in his.
“Shall we?” Hugh asked, leading her toward the door.
“Thank you,” she said to Hugh. Then she turned to Mary, and winked, while mouthing a silent thank you to the beaming eighteen-year-old.
“I want to be Jenny when I grow up,” Mary expressed quietly to her mother as Hugh and Jenny made their way outside.
“You mean you want to be like Jenny?” her mother asked.
“Nobody could be like Jenny. You can only be Jenny,” Mary replied, sighing.
“She’s had an extremely rough life, daughter,” Martha said. “Be glad you haven’t had to grow up like she did.”
Once on the road, in his mom’s borrowed going-to-town car, which thankfully wasn’t painted pink, Hugh asked Jenny how her riding went.
“It was great. I wish I could have been Mary growing up,” she said.
“Yeah, the ranch is quite a place to live,” Hugh admitted. “But it wasn’t like that for me when I was still living there. Almost none of what you see and enjoy about the ranch was here. All there was for me was grueling work, work, work.”
“I know. Your mom told me all about it,” Jenny said.
“Really?”
“Yeah. She admitted that they all but drove you away and into the Marines. They are very, very sorry for that.”
“Wow. You know more about that than I do,” Hugh remarked.
“Your mom is very easy to talk to.”
“I know,” Hugh said, remembering his heart-to-heart with his mom just that afternoon.
They arrived at the restaurant. Hugh let the valet park the car, and he and Jenny walked arm in arm to the hostess station. His reservation was checked, and they were shown to their table.
“This is beautiful,” Jenny remarked. “The view out over the lake is incredible.”
“I wanted to get here for the twilight time. That’s when the lights start to go on across the lake, and on the boats in the marina here. The reflections on the water are mesmerizing.”
As is your beauty, and the twinkle in your eyes, Hugh added, but only to himself.
The waiter came up, and offered to take their orders.
“I’ll order appetizers,” Hugh said, then asked Jenny if there was any seafood she didn’t care for.
“No, I’m willing to try anything, especially in a restaurant like this,” she replied.
Hugh ordered Portuguese clams, and crab cakes to start.
“Would you like the wine list, monsieur?” the waiter asked with a false, but not unpleasant French accent.
“No thanks,” Hugh answered. “I’m dr… not a drinker.” He hoped that Jenny hadn’t caught that he almost said he’d be driving tomorrow.
“Very well, sir, I’ll return with your appetizers, while you peruse the dinner menu.”
